'Ratings creep' seen as films get graphic

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Violence, sex and profanity in movies have increased in the past decade, a Harvard study finds, suggesting that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has become increasingly lenient with its age-based rating system.

The study, conducted by Kimberly Thompson and Fumie Yokota from the Kids Risk Project at the Harvard School of Public Health, says violence, sex and profanity in films have increased significantly since 1992.

"The findings demonstrate that ratings creep has occurred over the last decade and that today's movies contain significantly more violence, sex and profanity on average than movies of the same rating a decade ago," said Miss Thompson, director of the Kids Risk Project.

The study focused on G-rated films. Among these, they found that animated films received a significantly higher content-based score for violence than nonanimated films.

The report emphasizes that animation does not guarantee the content is appropriate for children. They urge researchers to explore the cognitive effects of films on children, reporting that understanding something is not real does not necessarily negate the effects.

"We need more research like this," Miss Thompson said. "We need to get a national research agenda going."

A major problem with the MPAA rating system, the report said, is that the age-based rating system provides inadequate information about the content in films. For example, the study found that the MPAA might assign more restrictive ratings to films containing sex than to films containing violence.

Two Web sites -- www.kids-in-mind.com, started in 1992, and www.screenit.com, started in 1996 -- provide in-depth information about the content of films, rather than an age-based rating.

"We have been the foremost alternative to MPAA ratings since 1992," said Arist Christofides, a representative of kids-in-mind.com. "The Harvard study concluded what we have been saying all along: Their [MPAA] ratings don't make any sense.

"The MPAA ratings are simply age-based, warning you that you should be careful, but not what you should be careful of. With our ratings, they can make up their own minds without somebody telling them what to watch."

A representative for the MPAA said the organization had not reviewed the report and could not comment on it.

Miss Thompson urged parents to look at the Web site reviews, especially if they are unable to view the movies themselves.

"The first thing is, parents have to watch their children's media consumption," Miss Thompson said. "They need to recognize the media as teachers, powerful and persuasive ones. Parents need to tune in and engage their children in conversations.

"The industry, or the rest of us, should create a universal rating system that is content-based, not age-based. The industry is best positioned to do that, but all of us really need to do our part."